From: llizard aka ejm ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ COLOURED COOKIES The following recipe, that my sister and I altered from a "Five Roses Cook Book", eliminates the need for icing as decoration. Children LOVE making and eating these cookies. (They don't seem to mind that they taste just okay but not great, because they are very attractive on a plate with the other standard sugar cookies, shortbreads, gingersnaps....) (\ ==== /) oven at 375F ( \(__)/ ) 8-10 minutes ( /<>\ ) (\/\/) 1 c. sugar / \ 3/4 c. shortening / \ ~~~~~~ 2 eggs (beaten) 2 tsp. orange peel (\ === /) 1 c. flour ( \(o)/ ) 3 tsp. baking powder ( / \ ) 1/2 tsp. salt ([|]) / \ 1/3 c. milk / \ 1/2 tsp. vanilla ~~~~~ 3/2 c. flour (that's one and a half cups) (\ ==== /) ( \(__)/ ) Cream sugar & shortening. Add eggs & orange peel. ( /_|\ ) Mix in a separate bowl the flour/b.p./salt. Add ( |/) only 1 c. of flour mix to sugar/short/egg/oran bowl. / A\ Add milk and vanilla. / \ ~~~~~~ Divide EVENLY into 5 bowls. Mix food colouring into 4 bowls, leaving one white. (B: we recommended (\ ==== /) to ourselves to have one and a half bowls of white ( \(__)/ ) and half a bowl of blue.) Put remaining flour (two ( / ------ and a half cups: 5 x 1/2c.= 1/2 c. per bowl) evenly (\/ /) into the 5 bowls. (or 1/4 c. for the blue bowl and / \ 3/4 c. for the white bowl and 1/2 c. for the others) / \ ~~~~~~ BLM: READ the handle of the measuring cup FIRST before there are many tears of frustration. (\ ==== /) ( \(__)/ ) EJM: DON'T add red to make a better blue. ( / oo--: LISTEN for the timer bell so that the orchestra and (\m/ ) choir of angels doesn't turn out mahogany brown. / \ / \ oven at 375F ~~~~~~ ungreased cookie sheet 8-10 minutes ASCII-art angels by JV/ejm Press the dough out to about 1/4 inch depth and using cookie cutters, cut into shapes. Use the other colours like plasticine to decorate. We have made little dogs with holly on their collars, angels playing instruments, Christmas trees, Santas, Initials decorated with holly for each child receiving the cookies, etc. etc. Try not to handle the dough TOO much; the cookies get quite hard and tough (although, as I said, kids don't seem to mind). We use little cookie cutters so the cookies themselves end up being no bigger than one or two inches. You don't have to throw out the burned cookies, but can hang them on the Christmas tree. They look quite amazing. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~